Twitter Tests Out New “Edit” Button
The absence of a Twitter edit button is never more felt by users than when they make simple typos in their otherwise witty tweets. But that is about to change—Twitter announced at the end of August that soon, “after countless pleas from many of its more than 237 million users, some people will start being able to click a button on the social media service to edit a tweet after they have posted it.“ As the New York Times cheekily pointed out, “It has been only about 15 years, nine months and 22 days since [users] started asking for that ability.”
Politicians in particular are rejoicing at the introduction of the edit feature on Twitter, with Tim Hogan, a Democratic communications consultant, rejoicing that “maybe you can re-read your post only five times instead of 10 before tweeting now.” Still, Twitter is not instituting the rule without caution.
Only some users have access to the feature so far as Twitter, similar to its method with “Circles,” plans to roll out the feature little by little to its user base. It also comes pre-equipped with plenty of transparency; Twitter notes if a post has been edited it will have an edit history so that followers can track changes made. Users also only have 30 minutes to edit their tweet, and will only be able to do so a “few times,” in order to keep tweets as secure as possible and avoid hacking scenarios or phishing scams with older viral posts. However, this level of caution doesn’t sit well with everyone.
“On Twitter, I just don’t know that it’s possible to do it safely,” said Rachel Tobac, a cybersecurity expert and CEO of SocialProof Security, of an edit button. “I do not think that the benefits outweigh the potential harm — disinformation, scamming and potential disenfranchising of voters on election day.” However, Twitter has rules against these, and has said that any versions of a tweet—past or current—must follow Twitter rules in order for the tweet to remain on the platform. Tobac remains cautious.
A handful of others expressed their skepticism with the move. Slate’s Miles Klee wrote, in a scathing indictment of the feature, that “every request for this function going back more than a decade arose from a screw-up so inconsequential that we have no compelling example of an issue where editing capability presents an ideal and necessary solution.
Klee added:
“It is petty vanity and the deluded hope for seamless perfection that has us yearning for second chances. Isn’t it naïve to suppose that we can ever go back and alter a decision or accident? The gaffes are part of the pleasure. They enrich the experience. It would be boring without them.”
Twitter, however, is approaching the change with optimism. In an official statement, the company said:
“We’re hoping that, with the availability of Edit Tweet, Tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful. You should be able to participate in the conversation in a way that makes sense to you, and we’ll keep working on ways that make it feel effortless to do just that.”
Only time will tell if nefarious actors will take control, or if the feature will make tweeting an easier experience.
